FF8 Goes to the Fair
by Faery Ears
Summary: Irvine and Zell, being the trouble makers they are, go to the fair with the rest of the gang and cause all the trouble they can. Not on purpose of course... Will their vacation turn out to be enjoyable or complete chaos? COMPLETE!
1. Part I

**Disclaimer:** In no way at all do I own the ANY of the characters or places in this piece of writing. Unless otherwise specified they are all from the game Final Fantasy VIII, which I do not own the copyright to. This piece of writing was created ONLY for the reading pleasure of fans everywhere. I make no profit off of this writing whatsoever, and it is completely fictitious.

**A/N:** Yay! My first fanfic! (Actually, this was up here a long time ago, but I took it down due to the fact that I couldn't take it anywhere.) This story takes place two years after our heroes have defeated Ultimecia and they now sit, unemployed and drunk in the pub in Timber. Enjoy! (I don't own any characters in this chapter.)

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**Part 1**

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Irvine slouched over in his usual stool at the pub. He stared deeply into his cup of Sylkis as if it would tell him the meaning for his life. "Here we sit, wasting our time in this pub again." ::hick::

Quistis sat up straight. "It could be worse... we could be..." She thought for a moment. "No wait, it couldn't be worse than this." She slouched back down in her stool as well.

Just then, Selphie perked up. "Come on guys, cheer up! Just 'cause we're unemployed and drowning away our sorrows with drinks doesn't mean that we can't have a little fun now and than, does it?"

Irvine, Quistis and Rinoa gave Selphie a look that said 'shut-up, we already know what you're going to say'.

Selphie looked hurt by their facial expressions "Oh come on! Just because we played that trick on Fujin and Raijin, who told Headmaster Cid, who totally freaked on us and threatened to kick us out of Garden _completely_... doesn't mean that I would suggest such a thing again."

Rinoa looked apologetically at Selphie. "You're right Selphie."

Squall rolled his eyes. "Oh brother..."

Rinoa caught a glimpse of Squall and jabbed him with her elbow. Squall got the wind knocked out of him. "What?" he gasped.

Rinoa ignored him and returned her attention to Selphie. "Let's hear what your new idea of having 'a little fun' is."

Selphie smiled. "Thank you. My new idea is that we should go out and PA-TAY!!!" She jumped up and down.

Just than the bartender walked over. "Hey! Do you mind... I'm having enough trouble trying to keep my customers without you bums scaring them away. Now quiet down or get out!"

"Sorry!" whispered Selphie, as she sat back down.

Zell stood up. "That's it! I'm gone! See ya!"

Quistis looked up from her cup. "Just where do you think you're going Zell?"

"I'm getting away from you losers to try and pull my pathetic life together," was Zell's reply.

Irvine looked like he had just been hit with an idea. He also stood up but then fell back down on his stood, but quickly got up again. "If we're ever gonna do anything with the rest of our miserable lives, hick we may as well do it now."

Zell and Irvine headed for the exit.

Selphie looked upset. "Wait! What about the party?"

Squall murmured something and then said, "Just let them go."

Quistis and Rinoa exchanged looks, and exclaimed in harmony, "We should go, too!"

Rinoa gave Squall a 'just play along' look. "Shouldn't we Squall?"

Squall finished up the last bit of his Mimett. "Y-yeah::hick:: I'm ready to go now."

The three waved to Selphie who was sitting in her seat with her mouth wide open. They quickly left before she had a chance to react.

The bartender walked over again to Selphie again. "Ouch! That was rough."

Selphie turned around on her stool to look at him. "Shut-up!" she shouted in his face.

-----

Zell and Irvine rented a small yellow jeep to get to wherever it was that they were going; they hadn't decided yet.

Seeing as there were no doors on the jeep it was very windy during the trip. Zell who was driving glanced over at Irvine who had his head tilt back, absorbing the rays that were flowing into the car. His long hair was silky and blowing in rhythm with the breeze. Zell returned his attention back to the road.

Irvine opened his eyes. "So Zell, uh... where are we going?"

Zell smiled. "First, I thought we should drop by Balamb and see if I can get my savings from Ma."

"What? You have savings? Why in the world were you just sitting around with us for?" Irvine exclaimed in disbelief. "What are you going to do with your savings?"

"Firstly, I like you guys... and secondly, we're going to go to Garden and buy a whole bunch of hotdogs!" Zell gave a big smile to Irvine.

"What? You're gonna go and get you're life's savings and then blow it all on hotdogs?!" Irvine practically screamed.

"Yeah. It's all you can eat. What else is there to do with it? I haven't had a hotdog since yesterday! I think I'm gonna waste away if I don't get one soon! Do you think I've lost weight?" Zell sounded very worried.

Irvine gave Zell an 'Are-you-crazy?' look. "Well... there is a really interesting fair going on that I've heard about. There would be tons of things to do there! I've always wanted to go and I'm sure that the others would like the idea, too."

Zell was smiling even bigger now.

This may have been the first time that Zell had forgot about the hotdogs. "OK, lets get to Balamb and tell the others from there... Are there lots of hotdogs at this fair?" (OK, I was wrong!)

Irvine smiled at Zell. "Tons!"

Zell almost drove off the road. "Wooo-hooo!" He punched his fist into the air above his head. "Alright!"

-----

Zell and Irvine had arrived in Balamb several hours earlier and Zell had had no trouble getting the money from Ma. Zell lied to her and said that he needed it until he was employed again because he was going to rent an apartment (OK, so it wasn't a complete lie, he did need the money because he was unemployed.)

Irvine was on the phone with Quistis who was telling Squall and Rinoa about how Zell was taking them all to the fair.

"Really?!" Zell heard Rinoa gasp in the background.

Irvine gave Quistis the details...

"I dunno," said Quistis, "Seifer said he'd be back soon..." Quistis and Seifer were 'dating' but Seifer was never around. He always said that he'd come, but he never did. Quistis could only remember him being angry.

"Come on Quistis, that idiot isn't coming, just come and meet us in Balamb at Zell's," said Irvine.

Quistis sighed, she knew it was true; he wouldn't come. "OK, we'll meet you there in Balamb than." With that, she hung up.

Irvine turned around to see Zell in his face.

"What did they say?" asked Zell excitedly.

"They said they'd meet us here," replied Irvine.

All they could do now was wait, so they settled in.

-----

Not more than ten minutes later there was a knock on the door.

"Wow that was fast!" Zell said as got up from his spot on the couch and walked into the other room.

As he got closer to the door it swung open so quickly that it hit the wall so hard the whole house shook, and there, standing in the doorway was a very, _very _angry looking Selphie.

"Hello Zell... Maybe you could explain to me _why _when I want to have fun everyone acts like I'm not there or brushes me off, but when _you _come up with something fun to do they get all excited and come straight away, even when you're practically half way across the _world_?" she screamed at him.

Zell looked at her dumbfounded. He had only seen her like this once before, and he didn't want to think about what might happen to him if he answered her incorrectly. "Wanna come?"

::THUD::

He was on the ground. Selphie whacked him on the side of his head. She was pretty tough when she was mad.

Irvine walked in to find Zell cowardly holding his head, just in case she would hit him again, and Selphie, with the wickedest grin he had ever seen standing over him.

"What's going on?" Irvine asked surprised.

Selphie stepped over Zell and pulled Irvine's face down to her own. "Were you going somewhere without me?" she said between her teeth.

"N-n-nooo! We were just going to c-call you... but we didn't know where you were," Irvine said coolly. "So how did you get here?"

"I followed you guys, how else would I get here?" Selphie said in a tone that was a bit more relaxed. "I was in the back of the jeep and you morons are so stupid you didn't even look back once." She looked very proud of herself for coming up with something so smart. "So when do we leave?"

Zell stood up cautiously. "As soon as the others get here." He rubbed the side of his head.

"Sorry for hitting you Zell," she apologized. "Want me to kiss it better?"

'Why hadn't she hit me? I want a kiss!' thought Irvine.

Selphie moved closer to Zell who took a step back. "Ummm... no thanks. I'm fine."

Selphie ignored his refusal and kissed him gently on the spot where she had whacked him earlier. Irvine gave a disgusted look at Zell who was turning a pretty pink colour.

-----

When the group had finally gathered together, they packed all their needed belongings and went to the airport.

"Do we have to take a plane?" complained Quistis, who was very afraid of heights and planes.

"Yes, we discussed this on the way here, it's too far to drive," explained Rinoa.

"Don't worry!" Selphie comforted. "We're all right here with you, there's nothing to worry about."

Squall looked up from where he was sitting at the airport. "Yeah right... Owww!" This time Selphie had jabbed him in the side with her elbow.

::bing:: "Attention all passengers! Flight 701 will be loading shortly, please prepare to board soon."

"That's our flight!" Irvine said as he looked at the ticket in his hand.

The six of them picked up their bags and headed to where a line was starting to form.

'This'll be fun,' thought Zell, 'I've never been on a plane before!'

-----

Quistis was the first one off the plane. She had been clinging to her seat practically the whole fight and was very relieved to be off of the plane.

They gathered their bags and left the airport to go to their hotel.

Their rooms were all pretty much the same. When you walked in there was a small washroom on the right with a shower, a toilet, some towels and a sink, which had little soaps and shampoos with the name of the hotel on them, all in a little basket, and there was an oval shaped burgundy rug on the floor.

Past the washroom, on the left wall was a dresser with a T.V. on it and a remote control, and to the right was a closet, an extra mattress, and a bed that had been freshly made; and to top it all off there was a huge window at the end with a lovely view of a grassy park with palm trees.

Quistis unlocked the door to her apartment, through her stuff in, and collapsed on the bed. 'I just wanna sleep,' she thought. The plane ride had really worn her out.

Selphie walked in after her. "Nice!"

Seeing as it was already 9 o'clock at night they decided to just settle in for the night.

-----

'Get me off! Get me off! GET ME OFF!!!'

::BAM::

Quistis woke up; her heart was beating fast. She had been having a nightmare in which she was on the Drop Zone ride and she was at the very top, screaming to get off. That's when she woke up... on the floor.

Just then there was a knock on the door. She glanced over at the clock that was on the night table; it read 1:28am. 'Who in the world would be knocking on my door at this hour?' she thought.

She got up off the floor, walked over, and opened the door to find Irvine standing outside looking concerned.

"Is everything all right, Quistis? I heard a loud noise coming from inside as I was walking by. What was it?" he questioned.

"Oh... yes, everything's fine," she lied, "I just dropped something."

"Dropped something?" Irvine repeated, "What did you drop? Sounded pretty _heavy_... What are you doing up at this hour?"

Quistis didn't know whether to be happy because of Irvine's concern, or angry because of his remark. "What's with all the questions? I couldn't sleep, OK? What are you doing?" she snapped.

"I couldn't sleep either, and if we aren't quiet we'll wake the whole hotel," he said a bit quieter. "If you aren't going to sleep, my room's right across the hall if you want to visit. I won't be going to sleep for a while anyway," he offered.

"I'll keep that in mind Irvine," she said as she started to close the door. Irvine started to walk across the hall to his room. She opened the door again and whispered back to him. "Hey Irvine, thanks for checking up on me."

"Anytime," he replied with a friendly smile.

Quistis shut the door quietly and smiled to herself. 'He's so cute when he smiles like that. I don't think Seifer ever smiled like that... I don't think Seifer ever smiled period.'

-----

"Hey! Yo! Get up!" shouted Zell.

He was running around like a madman knocking on all the doors of his friends' rooms.

"What do you want, Zell?" Rinoa said sleepily, stepping out into the hallway. Her hair was very matted and tangled.

"Yeah," agreed Selphie, "What's up?" She rubbed her eyes.

"Today we're going to the fair!" Zell smiled widely at them.

Squall looked displeased. "Wake me when you get back."

Squall started to close the door, but Rinoa pushed it back open. "Oh no you don't." She looked at him disapprovingly. "You're coming too." She dragged him into the hall.

"You want me to go like this?" he asked, modeling his pyjamas.

"Oh right, let's all get dressed first and meet in the lobby in an hour. Is that enough time?" Rinoa asked.

They all nodded their heads, except for Irvine.

"_One_ hour? Just one? You think that these looks of mine just happen by themselves?" Irvine shook his head, and quickly rushed back into his room to get himself ready.

-----

An hour later they were all in the lobby.

"Alright," exclaimed Zell, "Let's gooo!"

Within half an hour they arrived at the entrance to the fair.

"Where should we go first?" asked Rinoa, after they had got their passes. "How about the ferrous wheel?"

Selphie jumped up and down. "Yay!"

Quistis started to turn green. "I don't think I'm up for that."

Irvine looked toward the ferrous wheel that could be seen from any spot on the fair grounds. "Me neither."

Zell looked at Rinoa. "Maybe later."

Selphie looked at Rinoa. "I'll go with them, too," she said and winked at Rinoa.

"OK than," Rinoa said happily, "How 'bout we meet you back here at three o'clock?"

"Deal," said Quistis.

Zell, Quistis, Selphie and Irvine turned around to leave. Squall also turned around, but Rinoa pulled him back. "Come on Squall, let's go," she persuaded.

There was a long line up for the ferrous wheel, but Rinoa and Squall finally made it to the front of the line. They showed the man at the bottom their passes and got on the ride.

It was their second time going around and they were both sitting on the same side. Squall was looking down at the floor and Rinoa was thinking of something to say.

"Squall, can't you loosen up just for once? It's only me. You haven't changed very much you know." Rinoa sounded a bit annoyed.

Squall looked out into the distance and remained silent.

Rinoa was getting angry now. "This is our _vacation_ and you don't even appreciate what Zell is doing for us."

Squall said nothing.

Rinoa moved in a little so that she was right up next to Squall. She put her hand on his leg and squeezed it gently.

Squall looked over at her hand on his leg, then at her, and then he moved over a bit so that her hand couldn't reach him.

Rinoa flopped herself back and crossed her arms in front of her. "You haven't changed _one_ little bit!" she said as she looked out her side and into the horizon.

Squall moved over beside her and put his arm around her shoulders, she looked over with an angry expression on her face and he took his other hand, lifted up her chin and kissed her softly on her lips, and as he kissed her, her anger slowly faded. She closed her eyes and gave into his kiss.

He pulled back a little and whispered into her ear. "I love it when you get angry," he said with a small grin and kissed her again.

-----

'Where am I,' thought Selphie, looking around for a familiar face.

She had some how gotten lost while in line with Zell to go on the roller coaster for the third time in a row.

'Where can he be?' she panicked.

"Zell?!" she called out and a few people looked over at her. 'If I were Zell where would I be?" she thought. "Hotdogs!" she said out loud, and a few more people glanced at her as she took off towards the hotdog stand.

When she got there she found Zell at a table stuffing his face with hot dogs, Irvine flirting with some cute teenagers sitting at a table, and Quistis was in a line close by waiting to get some food.

Selphie walked over to Zell.

"Hey Selphie," Zell said through a mouth full of the hot dog he was inhaling.

"Thanks a lot! You just scared me half to death back there when you just disappeared!"

"Sorry," he swallowed, "I couldn't resist the smell of the hot dogs."

"You and your hotdogs," Selphie sighed and sat next to him at the table.

A few minutes had passed and than Squall and Rinoa joined the two sitting at the table; Quistis was also coming over now.

"Wow, Zell! Maybe you should slow down a bit, huh?" Rinoa gave a concerned look at Zell.

Quistis sat down on the other side of Zell. "It's always race with Zell, just keep your fingers out of the way."

Rinoa and Squall sat down across from Zell. Selphie smiled at them. "Did you two have fun?" she questioned.

"Yeah," said Rinoa, "but I don't think that Quistis would have liked it very much." Rinoa smiled at Quistis.

Irvine noticed that everyone was back so he walked over and sat down with them. "What are we gonna do next?" he asked.

Zell dropped his hotdog and stared out into the crowd at something. Everyone turned to see what was so amazing that it made Zell, of all people, drop his hot dog.

"What is it Zell?" Quistis asked.

Zell was silent for a long time. Then without warning... "CHOCOBO!!! "He jumped up and ran into the crowd.

Squall put his head in his hands. "I don't know him... I don't know him."

Selphie, Irvine, and Rinoa jumped up to follow Zell.

When they caught up with him, Zell was pushing through a swarm of small children and a few older ones. Arms were flying left and right as Zell continued to push his was past, regardless of the angry parents that were shouting at him.

Zell finally got up to the front of the crowd, took the man dressed as a chocobo's hand and said, "I've been waiting all my life for this moment to come along." Zell shook his hand and wouldn't let go.

Irvine was the first to catch up with Zell. "What do you mean? It was my idea to come her in the first place." Irvine pushed his way through the crowd of children and shoved Zell out of the way. "Hi, I'm Irvine and I'm your number one fan!" he said to the chocobo man, "And this doof here laying around is my friend." He gestured down toward Zell.

The chocobo man looked at Irvine, then Zell, and then back at Irvine. "SECURITY!"

Two big men stomped over to the crowd of now crying kids, and said, "What's up Choco? These two freaks giving you a hard time?"

The chocobo man nodded. "Take 'em away."

"Sure thing Choco," they replied, and they took Irvine and Zell by the arm and led them to the exit.

"Don't come back here anytime soon," the security men said as they kicked Zell and Irvine out of the fair.

"Way-ta-go Irvine! You just got us kicked out!" Zell said angrily.

Irvine smiled evilly at Zell. "Come with me."

------

**A/N:** Review if you have something to say. See you in Part 2!


	2. Part II

**Disclaimer:** (See part I.)

**A/N:** Zell and Irvine got kicked out of the fair for harassing the chocobo man... What next? Quistis cheating on Seifer? (I own the hot and sexy DJ Davie! And Trisha, Sam, and Ray are just characters I made up.) (I own none of the FF characters.)

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**Part 2**

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A few hours later, back at the hotdog stand, Quistis, Selphie and Rinoa were still laughing at what had happened to Zell and Irvine; Squall was secretly smiling to himself.

"Oh Chocobo!" Quistis imitated.

"I'm your number one fan!" mocked Rinoa, and they shook each other's hand.

"What do you think they're up to now?" Selphie asked Squall when they had settled down.

"Probably getting into more trouble," answered Squall in monotone.

"Probably." Selphie nodded.

"What should we do now?" asked Rinoa.

"It's already getting dark out, maybe we should head back to the hotel," suggested Quistis, "I heard they have a pool!"

"Alright! Let's go swimming!" exclaimed Selphie excitedly.

"But what about the Zell and Irvine?" asked Rinoa, "We can't leave them."

::beep beep:: It was the pager that Quistis always had on her in case of emergencies.

She took it out of her bag and read it out loud to the group. "Hey Quistis, it's Zell, we're back at the hotel. Catch ya later, we're goin' to the pool."

"Well, that's good enough for me, let's go!" said Rinoa.

They left.

-----

Zell and Irvine put on their trunks and headed for the pool.

When they got outside, Irvine spotted a cute brunette in a skimpy little bikini that hid practically nothing lying on a lawn chair. He stared at her for a moment or two before taking off to the lawn chair next to her.

Zell was left alone.

'Does he ever stop it with the girls?' Zell wondered. 'I wonder why they don't go crazy over me,' he thought, as he did a belly flop off the diving board, splashing three girls that were lying on some beach towels close by.

"What a jerk!" said one of the girls.

Irvine walked up to the cute brunette. "Is this chair taken?"

She looked over and smiled at him with perfect teeth. "Nope."

Irvine stretched himself out along the lawn chair. He looked over at her; she was still looking at him. She giggled.

"What's your name?" Irvine asked.

"Trisha," she replied.

"How are you enjoying you're stay here Trisha?" Irvine asked.

"I've been here only two days, and it's been the worst two days of my life!" She smiled at Irvine, "Until now."

'_Score_!' Irvine rejoiced in his mind.

"CANNONBALL!!!"

Irvine and Trisha looked over to see Zell jumping off the diving board for the second time and then dropping with a big splash, soaking some more girls on the other side of the pool who got up and left.

"What an idiot!" said Trisha.

"Yeah," Irvine agreed.

-----

Selphie, Squall, Rinoa, and Quistis finally arrived at the hotel.

"Alright everyone lets go swimming! Meet back out here in fifteen minutes," Selphie said excitedly.

They all headed for their rooms to change.

Rinoa got into her room, took her bikini out of a dresser drawer and laid it out on the bed. She was standing in the room naked when there was a knock on the door.

"Don't come in," she called out.

The door opened and Squall walked in and went into the room saying, "Rinoa, I have to talk to you about something."

"AHHH!" she screamed and grabbed for the blanket on the bed to cover herself with.

Squall turned red. "Wow, I didn't know you wanted me so badly."

"I said _don't _come in!" she yelled, turning a pink colour from embarrassment.

"Ohhh..." Squall said, "I was kind of hoping you wanted me, are you sure?"

"OUT!!!" she screamed, throwing a pillow at him.

"Fine, I'm going," he said as he left, closing the door softly behind him.

-----

When they all got out to the pool area they saw Zell all by himself on the deck and Irvine still flirting with the brunette.

Squall and Rinoa went over to some empty lawn chairs and sat down, Quistis did a graceful dive into the pool, and Selphie went over to Zell.

"Hiya, Zell!" Selphie said in a perky tone. She sat down beside him, "What's up? Why do you look so sad?"

Zell pointed at Irvine and Trisha. "How come he can get any girl he sees and I get them all running away?"

Selphie thought for a moment. "Maybe you have to change your approach."

"What do you mean?" asked Zell.

Selphie looked exhausted. She stood up. "Don't be such a show-off, is what I mean." Then she walked away to let him think about that.

-----

When they were all done swimming they went back to their rooms to get ready for the dance that Selphie had got tickets for earlier on their way back to the hotel from the fair.

When they got to the dance location they were practically trampled by a stampede of people trying to get in.

"Must be a good place," commented Rinoa.

They showed their tickets at the door and they were in.

It was fairly dark inside, spotlights and people were everywhere. On the left there were a few really big speakers that were blasting the DJ's tunes, and there were chairs on the right where a few people were chatting.

Two blonde girls ran up to Zell. One had short hair, lots of freckles, and was quite short. She wore a tank top and a mini skirt with high heel sandals and was very pretty. They other girl was not so much pretty as cute. She was almost taller than Zell and had a round face, long hair, and pale skin with no freckles. She was wearing an open-back sleeveless top, hip hugger jean and skater shoes. They took Zell by his arms and dragged him out on the dance floor.

Zell looked back at Selphie, who was giving him an 'All-right-now-don't-blow-it' look, and then Zell was gone.

In less time than it would take to say 'chocobo,' Irvine was at the other side of the room flirting with a group of young ladies who were giggling at whatever it was that he was saying to them.

Rinoa took Squall's hand and took him out on the floor, while Selphie and Quistis were heading over to harass the DJ.

When Rinoa got to a spot on the floor, she let go of Squall's hand and turned to face him. They stared at each other for a moment, and the DJ came on the speakers and said, "How is everyone doing out there?" The whole place screamed. "That's what I thought. I'm DJ Davie and I'll be here all night, so if you want to request a song and send it out to anyone, don't be a stranger. Were gonna turn down the heat a bit right now. I have just gotten a request; this song goes out to Squall and Rinoa. This is Lonestar... 'Amazed'," DJ Davie said in a sexy whisper.

Rinoa smiled at Squall who looked over to the speakers where Quistis and Selphie were waving to him. Squall looked back at Rinoa. He knew that if he stood there any longer she would leave and not talk to him for the rest of their vacation, and no matter how well he hid his emotions for her from the group, he couldn't fool himself; she had something in her eyes that made him want to be with her.

He moved closer to Rinoa and put his arms around her waist, and she put her arms around his neck.

While they were dancing, Squall, not caring who saw, moved in closer to the unsuspecting Rinoa and kissed her neck.

Rinoa giggled.

Quistis and Selphie observed them carefully from across the room.

"Wow, they're really getting into it!" Quistis said.

"Yeah," said Selphie. "This was a great idea!"

Two guys were standing next to Selphie and Quistis. They were both about the same height. One had brown hair, the other black, and they were wearing baggy pants and muscle shirts. (Not to mention incredibly hot!) They walked over to the ladies and asked it they wanted to get something to drink with them. Of course they said yes.

-----

Half an hour later, Zell and the two blondes were on top of a massive speaker, Zell in the middle and a blonde on either side.

Irvine was still with the ladies who were practically in his lap, and there were several buckets nearby filled with drool.

Selphie and Quistis were becoming quite interested in the guys that invited them to get a drink, and the two guys seemed interested in them as well.

"Where are you from; what do you do?" Sam, the brown-haired guy asked Selphie.

"I'm from Trabia garden, but then I transferred to Balamb, and now I'm an unemployed SeeD," she answered winking at him.

"What about you?" Ray, the black-haired one asked Quistis.

"I'm from Balamb Garden too, and Selphie and I work together. What about you two?" Quistis asked Sam and Ray.

Sam answered, "I'm from Deling City, and Ray here is from Dollet." Sam gestured towards Ray.

"We do deliveries to Esthar every once in a while, and we just got a huge raise, so we came here while we had some time off; which we don't get very often," said Ray. He winked at Quistis who smiled and looked away.

While they were talking, another slow song was put on. "This song goes out to all the lovely ladies out there. This is 'The Rose' by Seal." DJ Davie said in his dreamy voice.

Ray stood up and walked over to Quistis. "May I have this dance?" he  
asked.

Quistis smiled. "Of course."

They went out onto the dance floor.

Selphie shifted her weight uncomfortably when Sam didn't ask her to dance. She couldn't take it any more; she got up and walked over to where Sam was sitting. "You're such a gentleman, asking me to dance and all. Of course, I'd love to dance! Thanks for asking!" she almost screamed.

Sam acted somewhat ackwardly around girls sometimes. "Well, if you want to so badly." He said coolly.

Zell was also out on the floor. He was taking turns dancing with the blondes. This time he was dancing with Tiffany, the shorter one; next time it would be Jill's turn.

Rinoa and Squall were also out on the floor. They had been there practically the whole time.

Irvine was still over, cool talking the drooling ladies.

And the night continued like that for hours, until finally DJ Davie came on again. "Ladies and gentlemen," he started, "It's been a great pleasure to be here tonight, but they tell me that we have to stop soon, so here's a song to wrap things up. I wanna see everyone on the dance floor! This is Edwin McCain with 'I'll Be'..."

A swarm of ladies surrounded Irvine, "Dance with me! Dance with me! Dance with me!" They all said at once.

Irvine was forced to choose. He chose a girl from the back. She was average height, with bright blue eyes and a big smile. "Wanna dance?" he asked her. She almost fainted. He led her onto the floor.

-----

On the way home Zell had fallen asleep in the back.

Quistis was looking at the small piece of paper that Ray had given to her. She opened it up, and her heart leap, because what was written on the paper was Ray's phone number, and a message that said, 'Call me sometime, Ray.'

"What's that you got there?" asked Selphie.

"Nothing," Quistis said quickly.

"Oooo!" said Irvine as he grabbed the note from Quistis' hand. "A love letter!" Irvine didn't know how close he actually was.

"Hey! Give it back!" Quistis pleaded.

He read it out loud to the group.

"Hey Quistis, I didn't know you had two boyfriends. It's not like you at all to cheat on Seifer," said Squall.

Everyone went silent.

"He's not my _boyfriend_; I met him at the dance, and he's a very nice guy," Quistis defended herself rather loudly.

"Right... we believe you... heh...heh...heh... uh-oh," said Irvine, ducking out of the way of Quistis' air born bag.

"Close one," said Irvine looking at where the bag had landed.

"If you hadn't of ducked, that would have hurt you very badly!" said Quistis, crossing her arms.

Squall took the note from Irvine and gave it back to Quistis. She grabbed it from him.

Irvine, still covering his head, said, "Won't do that again."

Squall drove them home.

-----

Everyone slept in that morning, especially Zell, who had never partied harder.

Selphie was the first one awake. She looked at her clock; it read 10:32am. She got out of her bed and opened the big window to let in the sun. Selphie covered her eyes with on hand as she stared into the blinding light. It filled the room around her.

Selphie walked into the bathroom and washed her face with warm water.

'I wonder if the others are awake?' she thought. Then there was a knock on her door. 'I guess that answers my question.'

She threw on a housecoat and opened the door.

Standing outside the door was not one of her friends, but it was Sam who she'd met at the dance the night before.

"What are you doing here?" she screeched. "How did you know I was here?"

Sam smiled at her. His brown hair was nicely combed back and he was wearing a red t-shirt and baggy blue jeans. "Don't you remember?" he spoke as if she were a little girl that he was explaining something very complex to. "You're friend, Quistis, said that you were staying here, and I said that Ray and I were jus..."

Sam started to fade off as Selphie's thoughts took control. She couldn't remember anything. 'I was probably too busy starring at you,' she thought, starting to drool.

"Hey! Are you listening?" He waved a hand in front of her face and she blinked back to reality. "No one listens to me," he whined.

"Hmmm...?" Selphie wondered what he had just said.

"Never mind..." he said under his breath. "Well, anyways, I came by to see how you slept. Did you sleep well?" he asked kindly.

"Yes, thanks," she managed. "Is Ray with you?"

"No, he's back at the hotel ordering breakfast, I also came by to ask if you and Quistis would like to join us," he said.

"I'd love that and I'm sure Quistis would, too," Selphie said. "I think Quistis is still sleeping though."

"Well maybe I can leave our room number with you and when you two are ready you can just come on over," he offered.

"That'd be great!" exclaimed Selphie.

Sam told her the hotel and room number.

"I'll see you in a bit," he said, taking a step back.

"Yep, see you." She waved and closed the door, her heart pounding as it shut. 'Wow, a date!' she thought as she started looking for something to wear.

-----

When Selphie had decided on what to wear, which consisted of a small purple tank top, short shorts and sandals, she woke up Quistis.

Selphie pounded on the door. "Wake up!" she shouted.

The door opened and Quistis appeared in the doorway. She was wearing a nightgown with a zigzag pattern on it. Her make-up was smudged and her hair looked like a bird had made its nest in it overnight. Her expression went from sleepy to 'Kill-Selphie' mode.

"Why did you wake me up?!" she demanded.

"Sam and Ray invited up for breakfast sleepy head!" Selphie said jumping up and down.

'Ray!' Quistis thought with a sigh. 'He's so gorgeous!'

"You'd better hurry up. I don't know how long it took you to get that hair 'do, but I hope it takes you less time to get it out than it did to put in," she joked.

"Thanks..." Quistis muttered unimpressed.

"Need any help with it?" Selphie offered.

"Sure, come right in if you like, I was hoping for company," she said sarcastically.

Selphie took no notice and walked into the room.

Quistis was about to flip, but than thought that maybe she could use the company. She was still thinking about what she had said last night... 'He's not my boyfriend; I met him at the dance, and he's a very nice guy... but Seifer...'

Quistis was digging through a drawer trying to find a brush.

"Hey! What's the matter nest-head?" Selphie asked.

Quistis didn't look up. "Nothing," she said.

"Oh... Seifer," Selphie suspected.

Quistis froze and stared blankly into the drawer, a tear rolled down her check.

"Hey, don't worry about him," Selphie said with a big grin. "Let's go and have a nice breakfast for once, OK?"

Quistis nodded.

-----

When Quistis' bird's nest was nicely combed out, Selphie and Quistis left for Sam and Ray's hotel. It wasn't very far so they walked.

Their hotel room was on the third floor, and since neither Selphie nor Quistis wanted to walk up three flights of stairs, they took the elevator.

Reaching the top, they stepped out of the elevator and started their search for the room. Selphie found it almost instantly.

She knocked on the door and waited for an answer.

While they were waiting a blonde man came walking down the hall with a lady beside him who was falling all over him, and they were coming in their direction. Selphie didn't seem to notice, but Quistis sure did.

Quistis turned white and when Selphie felt an ice-cold hand, grip her arm she turned to see what was up. 'Is that Seifer?' she wondered.

Ray opened the door, but no one was there. When he stepped into the hall he saw Selphie trying with all her might to keep Quistis from flying off the handle.

"Is this why you never show up, Seifer?" Quistis demanded pointing at the lady beside him.

The lady stood next to Seifer and held onto his arm. She was fairly tall and slender with long black hair. She wore a long purple dress with flowers, and sandals. Her face was oval shaped and were pretty.

'I know her from somewhere, but who is she?' thought Selphie.

"Hey Quistis, baby," said Seifer, ignoring the question, "I was just going to come back, what are you doing here?"

Ray come up beside them. "What's going on? Don't make me call the lobby!"

"Who are you?" Seifer asked with a smirk.

"I'll do it!" Ray threatened.

"Seifer, don't bother coming back; it's over!" Quistis said, a little sad but relieved.

"Wha... Wha-da-ya mean 'over', baby, it had never started!" he said coolly.

Quistis gave Seifer a death glare before turning and walking into Ray and Sam's hotel room. Breaking up had never felt better, she knew that she could live without ever seeing him again; heck, she had been doing it for a long time already!

When Selphie and Quistis walked into the room, Selphie gave Quistis a big hug and said, "I knew you could do it."

-----

**To my readers/reviewers:** You still with me? Good! Let's move forward! Review and/or follow me to the next chappy.


	3. Part III

**Disclaimer:** (See part I.)

**A/N:** Quistis planned to cheat on Seifer, but he was already cheating on her! Quistis broke up with Seifer, but who was the lady with Seifer? (I own none of the original FF characters.)

-----

**Part 3**

-----

Quistis had never felt better in her entire life. She felt free! She and Selphie enjoyed their surprise breakfast and they invited Sam and Ray to stay with them for the day. They travelled back to their hotel to get the others.

Back at the hotel in Squall's room, Zell and Irvine were arguing about where they were going to go that day.

"Let's go to the fair!" said Irvine.

"I already told you, we got kicked out of there! If someone sees us we're dead!" came Zell.

"Oh yeah..." Irvine said thoughtfully.

Rinoa stepped in. "How about the ocean? It's not that far away from here."

"Great idea! I'll get Selphie and Quistis!" Zell ran out of the room and down the hall.

As he got to Selphie's room he noticed that she was coming down the hallway with Quistis and two guys. He ran up to them and told them about their plans.

"Sounds fun!" said Ray. Then he said to Sam, "Let's go back and get our trunks." They went back to their hotel.

"Who are they?" asked Zell.

"The one with the black hair is Ray and the one with the brown hair is Sam," Selphie explained.

"Ah..." said Zell.

"Let's get our stuff Quistis! This is going to be a great day!" Selphie said excitedly.

-----

The weather at the ocean very hot as the large group walked along through the burning sand.

There were hundreds, if not thousands, of people at the beach, and tons of kids crowded the shallow water, splashing around.

Multiple lifeguards sat watch all the way down the beach.

"What a beautiful place!" said Rinoa. "You couldn't have picked a better place Zell... Zell?" Rinoa turned around to find that Zell was no longer behind her, but already in the water.

"Whoo-hoo!" Zell shouted as he ran into the waves.

Rinoa gave a little chuckle.

"Let's set up the umbrella and towels right here!" Selphie said excitedly, jumping up and down in the place that she thought would be just right.

After setting out his towel under the large umbrella, Irvine glanced around quickly. "Would you look at all the hotties around here," he said, more to himself that to anyone else. He stood up.

"Where are you going?" asked Rinoa.

"I'm, uh... going for a little walk down the beach," Irvine thought up quickly, which wasn't a complete lie.

"All right," Rinoa agreed, as if he needed her approval before he could go anywhere. She lay out her towel. "Just be back in time for lunch."

When Irvine didn't answer her, Rinoa looked to where Irvine had previously been, only to find that he was already a ways away from the umbrella.

Rinoa sighed and continued to help Selphie and Sam set down the towels on the sand.

When the three had finished setting up, they decided to go into the water.

"Hey Quistis! Ray!" said Selphie, "We are going in the water, wanna come?"

Quistis looked up from where she had laid herself down in the sun to tan beside Ray. "Not right now," Quistis replied.

"Maybe a little later," said Ray.

"OK! You're loss!" Selphie said. "What about you Squall?"

Squall looked up at Selphie from where he was sitting. He had been wearing a long-sleeved sweater the whole time, even in the insanely hot temperature. "No thanks," he said in a monotone voice, staring far off down the beach.

"Come on Squall! It will be fun!" said Rinoa, pulling on Squall's arm.

Squall tried to resist, but it was of no use. Rinoa pulled him to his feet.

"Now take off your sweater and come in the water with us!" Rinoa instructed. "How can you wear that thing anyway?"

"My s-s-sweater?" Squall stuttered, looking down at the sweater he was wearing. "I can't," he said.

"What do you mean you can't? Of course you can! You put it on this morning! Do you need my help?" Rinoa asked, quickly becoming impatient.

"No, I just..." Squall started.

"Just what?" Rinoa prompted, grabbing the sweater and pulling it off of Squall.

"Hey!" Squall protested, but it was too late...

"Well, I'll be..." Ray said from beside Quistis. "You're as white as snow, Squall!"

Rinoa stared at Squall's white skin for a moment without so much as blinking an eye. "See? You _need _some time in the sun!" she said. "Let's go!"

Rinoa took Squall by the arm and lead him to the water.

-----

By noon the water was nice and refreshing for the group after being out in the burning sun.

Quistis, however, was still tanning on the beach that is... if tanning is the right word. Quistis was developing quite the sunburn on her skin, perhaps due to the overdue expiry date on sunscreen she had used...

Ray was at rest beside Quistis and periodically stole a glance at her.

Squall was now seated on his towel out in the sun where Rinoa had told him to stay and to get some colour, while Rinoa was walking along the water's edge picking up seashells.

Irvine still had not come back from his stroll down the beach...

Sam had swum quite a ways out and was now floating in the deep water.

"Hey! Watch out for undercurrents!" Selphie shouted to Sam.

"Don't worry; it's fine," Sam yelled back. Then he floated on his back and started to paddle his way back toward Selphie.

On his way back, Sam noticed something out of the corner of his eye. 'What was that?' he thought.

"AH!" Selphie screamed. "Sam! Get back here now!"

"Huh?" Sam looked behind him and saw the fin or a shark... "AH!!!" Sam shrieked and flailed his arms, nearly drowning himself. He recovered quickly from his shock and started swimming at top speed back to land.

A lifeguard on the beach blew her whistle and ordered everyone to get out of the water.

Rinoa, Squall, Quistis, and Ray looked out at the ocean to see all the people who had previously been in the water, now on the beach.

'What's going on?' Rinoa wondered.

Sam was the last one to get out of the water. "That was... the most scary... thing ever..." he heaved, as he lay down on the sand and shut his eyes.

"There it is again!" a small boy shouted, and pointed to the fin that had now reappeared.

The shark was coming closer and closer to the beach, but suddenly it stopped and up popped...

"A head!" shouted another small boy, "The shark has a person's head!"

"Hey! That isn't a shark at all!" Ray pointed out the obvious.

"It's Zell…" said Quistis, in a 'Not-so-surprised' tone of voice.

"What?" Sam said in a monotone, narrowing his eyes at the 'shark'.

Zell laughed and stood up in the water that was up to his waist. "I fooled you!"

What Zell was really thinking was... 'This will really get those girls to like me!'

While Zell was laughing, he didn't notice a shark fin as it swam in circles around him.

"Zell! Get out of the water!" shouted Rinoa in a panic.

Zell stopped laughing "What..." he said and noticed the shark beside him. "AH!!" Zell shrieked and bounded to the shore in record time.

"That's no shark," said the lifeguard, running out to the fin that was swimming around.

When she got up to the fin, the lifeguard put her hands in the water and pulled up...

"Irvine?" Quistis said, completely amazed.

"Hey there, baby," Irvine said to the lifeguard, looking her over.

The lifeguard took Irvine by the arm and pulled him out of the water. When she reached the shore, she took Zell by the arm with her other hand. "You two come with me," she said in an unimpressed voice.

The other members of the group watched in humiliation as their two friends were taken into a cabin on the beach.

-----

"You two ruin everything!" Selphie shouted at Irvine and Zell. She and the group all stood outside of the group's hotel.

"Well, not every-" started Irvine.

"Yes, _everything_!" Selphie cut Irvine off before he could finish his sentence. "Not only did you get yourselves kicked out of the fair grounds and were told never to go back, but now you get yourselves kicked off the beach, too?!"

"But Selphie..." Zell was about to object, but the outraged Selphie cut him off, too.

"We can't take you boys anywhere!" Selphie said, and throwing up her hands in frustration, she turned and stomped into the hotel.

Ray and Sam stood blinking at the hotel doors as they closed behind Selphie.

"Is she... always like that?" Sam asked Quistis.

"Oh no!" Quistis replied. "Usually she's worse!"

Sam gulped and turned to Ray. "I think we should be going now..."

"Uh huh..." Ray nodded his agreement, and saying their goodbyes, he and Sam went back to their own hotel.

"What are we going to do now?" Zell asked the rest of the group.

"You aren't doing anything, Zell," Irvine said walking towards the hotel doors. "You just made Selphie mad."

Zell blinked a few times. "Hey! I do recall that I wasn't the only one who made her mad! Where are you going?"

"I'm going to cheer Selphie up!" Irvine called over his shoulder.

"He's a dead man..." Zell commented quietly to himself.

-----

::knock knock:: Irvine rapped on Selphie's door.

"Go away!" she shouted.

Irvine took that as his cue to enter. He turned the doorknob and walked into Selphie's room. "Hey Selph!"

Selphie was lying on her bed. "I said go away!" she repeated, throwing a small pillow at Irvine.

Irvine dodged the pillow. "Well... yea but..." Irvine paused and moved to the side to avoid another pillow being tossed at him. "You left the door unlocked, so I-oof." Irvine was hit in the face with a pillow.

"GO!" Selphie demanded.

Irvine looked hurt. "But Selph! I just came to tell you that I was sorry!"

Selphie sat up. "Really?"

"Yeah!" confirmed Irvine. In his mind he was thinking, 'Score!' He would say anything to get a pretty girl's attention, and so far, things were looking pretty good.

Selphie got up from her bed, and walked over to when Irvine was standing, with a sly smile on her face. She placed her hands on Irvine's shoulders, and very unexpectedly she pushed Irvine forcefully out of her room.

Irvine, being caught off guard, stumbled backwards into the hallway.

Selphie shut the door in Irvine's face and locked the door.

"Selphie! Let me in!" Irvine said, banging on her door.

"Hey, what do you think you are doing boy?" said a short woman from behind Irvine.

Irvine turned around to see one of the maintenance workers coming out of the elevator with a cart and various bottles of cleaners.

"Hey! Is there something wrong? Answer me, or I will report you for disturbing the silence!" said the woman.

'Disturbing the silence?' What was she talking about? Irvine looked around to see people sticking their heads out of their rooms to see what all the noise was about.

Irvine started to sweat.

"What do you think Irvine is up to?" Quistis asked Rinoa as she, Rinoa, Squall, and Zell walked down the hallway of the hotel toward their rooms.

"Is that him up there?" Rinoa asked back and pointed ahead of them.

Irvine was arguing with the short woman in the hallway still.

"I was just trying to get my friend to open the door!" Irvine tried to explain.

"Yeah, sure you were... Come with me," said the woman as she walked back into the elevator. "I'm taking you to the front desk where the manager can deal with you."

"But I didn't do anything!" Irvine objected.

The short woman walked up to Irvine and pulled him down to her height. "Are you going to give me a hard time?"

Irvine was beginning to get really scared at this point. "N-n-no ma'am."

"Good! Let's go." The woman pulled Irvine into the elevator with her.

"Do you think he enjoys creating havoc?" asked Rinoa.

-----

"I heard that Irvine was told to pack up and leave the hotel," Squall informed his friends.

"He deserves it!" commented Rinoa.

"What is he going to do now, though?" asked Zell.

"Don't know," said Squall with a shrug.

"He's probably up to more no-good!" said Rinoa, in a 'matter-of-fact' tone.

"Probably..." Squall agreed.

-----

"No..." Quistis mumbled as she tossed and turned in her bed. "Let me off..." Suddenly she sat up, gasping for air.

"Another nightmare?" Quistis asked her self as she got out of her bed and walked over to the window.

Quistis opened the window to let some of the cool night air into her room. Then she walked into the washroom.

Turning on the washroom light and looking into the mirror, Quistis was greeted by her messy-haired, sleepyhead expression.

She splashed some cold water onto her hot face and tried to untangle her hair a little.

When she had finished up in the washroom, she flicked off the light switch, walked back into the dark room, and crawled back into bed.

Quistis had started to drift back to sleep when, unexpectedly, she felt the warmth and breath of someone else in her bed.

She held her breath. 'Oh my God...' Quistis thought, and tried not to move a muscle.

The body beside her rolled over and snuggled right up to Quistis' back.

What should she do?

"Mmm... Quistis..." said the male voice beside Quistis softly.

'What the...' thought Quistis. She jumped out of bed and switched on the lights in the room.

The figure pulled the covers up over his head and moaned. "Hey, would you turn down the lights? It's too late for this..."

Quistis pulled the covers off of the bed. "Irvine! What are you doing? Get out of here!"

Irvine opened his shut eyes tightly. "But I need a place to stay! Please let me stay." He gave Quistis big puppy dog eyes. "Pleeease." Irvine pouted for added affect.

"Fine!" Quistis agreed. "But you sleep on the floor."

"Thanks so much!" said Irvine.

Quistis muttered to herself and tossed a blanket and pillow at Irvine. "Just go to bed already."

-----

**To my readers/reviewers:** Alright! You did it. It's that time again now. Leave a review and follow me to Part 4!


	4. Part IV

**Disclaimer:** (See part I.)

**A/N:** Wow, I'm finally back! Let madness ensue. Irvine and Zell have been kicked out of the fair, out of the beach, and Irvine had also successfully been kicked out of the hotel. Is there anything that these two troublemakers can't get kicked out of? Will the group continue to hang out with them on their vacation? They will if they remember that Zell was the one who paid for it. And who is the woman with Seifer? Ray, Sam, and a few other characters are fictitious, and I made them up.

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**Part 4**

-----

Upon waking, Quistis found that Irvine had already left her room in the hotel, perhaps in fear that a person from room service would come around early.

Quistis shrugged. She was just glad that Irvine didn't get to have the pleasure of seeing her bird nest hair.

-----

Rinoa blinked her eyes open sleepily to a knock on the door to her room. She sat up and threw the covers off of her scandalous lingerie and quickly covered herself back up. She had forgotten that she was wearing it.

The person outside knocked on the door again.

"Just a second," called Rinoa, frantically searching the room for something suitable to answer the door in. She stood up and ran to the dresser where she had unpacked her cloths, and began tossing her belongings all around the room.

"Rinoa, are you in there?" can Squall's voice.

'Damn him,' Rinoa cursed, and wondered why he always had to show up at the most inconvenient of times.

"I'm coming in," he warned.

"NO!" Rinoa shouted, and raced to the door in an attempt to lock it before the dark haired man could walk in on her again, but it was too late.

Squall walked into the room as if he owned the place and stared at Rinoa's overly sexy outfit. "You're walking around in something like that and you leave the door unlocked?"

Rinoa, not knowing what else to do, stood her ground. "That's none of your business!" she told him, putting her hands on her hips. "Now get out."

"You want me to go? Are you sure you weren't waiting for me to walk in?" asked Squall with honesty.

"Leave!" Rinoa ordered.

Squall flashed her a look of disappointment, but went back out the door, but not before having the last word. "The look is very becoming of you."

Rinoa's face flushed.

-----

::tap tap:: Zell poked his head out of the bathroom, toothbrush still in mouth, and looked into the main room. 'What was that noise?' he thought.

After assuring himself that there was nothing in his room, Zell went back into the bathroom and continued brushing his teeth.

::tap tap:: Zell immediately stuck his head back out into the main room. Nothing still. He shook his head. 'I'm not crazy. I'm not!' he told himself, and went back to brushing his teeth.

There was another tap in the main room again, and Zell stopped brushing his teeth once again to listen.

The tapping was followed by a squeaking noise and then a loud thump followed by an, "Ooof!"

Zell's eyes widened. Someone had gotten into his room. He panicked and looked for something to use to protect himself from the intruder. He grabbed the soap holder.

Cautiously peeking around the corner, Zell listened again for the noises. He noticed that his window was now open and the curtains were blowing from the breeze outside.

'Maybe the wind from outside caused the window to open by itself,' Zell reasoned.

"HEY ZELL!" the intruder jumped up in front of him.

Zell screamed a feminine-like scream and knocked the intruder on the head with the soap holder. The intruder went down and Zell, upon closer inspection, realized that the intruder was actually Irvine.

Irvine rubbed his aching head and whimpered. "Why do you have to be so rough?"

Zell looked angered. "Rough? I thought you were someone trying to break in here and kill me!"

Irvine thought a moment... Was he there to break in and kill Zell? "NO!" he assured the frightful boy.

Zell sighed with relief. "Then what were you doing climbing in through my window?"

"I found a new place for us to hang out," Irvine said with an evil smirk.

"I dunno," said Zell, "I don't think we should go around making any more trouble..."

"What are you talking about?" asked Irvine, gesturing with his hands. "We're not in trouble... Well, not that much trouble. We're just having fun. Besides, this is our vacation."

Zell looked thoughtfully at Irvine, and Irvine hoped that he was sounding convincing enough to get the shorter boy to follow-through with his next plan of action.

"So are you with me or not? We can get a hot dog on the way," Irvine bribed.

"Hot dogs? I'm in!" Zell agreed without giving Irvine's plot a second chance or thinking about the consequences for a split second. He gave Irvine a high five.

-----

Irvine and Zell crouched outside a pub as if they weren't supposed to be there, even though they hadn't even done anything... yet.

"This is your plan?" asked Zell. They had come on this little vacation to get AWAY from the pub, not to go back to it.

Irvine looked at Zell with disappointment. "Haven't I taught you anything? A pub is a great place to meet girls!"

"Maybe so, but I don't think they're gonna serve us hot dogs in there, and you promised me a hot dog," Zell reminded.

"Don't worry, you'll get your hot dog."

The two stood up and walked casually into the pub. It was dimly lit, and there were trophy fish hanging on all of the walls. Zell could tell immediately that this wasn't his type of pub. He tapped Irvine's back. "I don't think we should be in here. I'm getting a bad vibe from this place."

A man in the shadows watched them pass by his table in the corner.

"Nonsense," said Irvine, approaching the bar, and taking a seat on the stool. "Two Sylkis," he said to the bar tender.

Zell nervously took a seat beside Irvine. He quickly glanced around the pub. There weren't many people in there with them. Just a bunch of scary looking biker guys with beards and leather. Certainly no girls that would be interested in them. Zell looked to the bar tender and gave him a friendly smile.

The bar tender snared back void of emotion.

Zell pleaded to Irvine again that they should leave, but Irvine wouldn't hear of it.

Irvine downed his drink in a few seconds, while Zell just played with his glass nervously.

A very beautiful biker woman dressed in black leather, whom Zell hadn't noticed when they walked in, came over and sat next to Irvine. "Hey there," she said in a mysterious voice.

"Hey," said Irvine, quickly ordering another drink for the her. "Who might you be?"

She was about to answer him, when Irvine was tapped on the shoulder. He hadn't noticed the man from the corner approaching them. Irvine turned around to find a big biker man standing behind him, also in black leather. His facial hair was like Santa Clause's. He also wore a bandanna and frown.

"Just who do you think you are, buying my girlfriend a drink?" he asked Irvine.

Zell watched the scene nervously as the man rolled up his sleeves to reveal sleeve tattoos of tigers and dragons and naked women.

The bar tender came over now. "Hey you two, take it outside or I'll call the cops."

The biker man snarled at Irvine, and looked like he was going to let him off the hook. Then he punched Irvine in the jaw, nearly knocking him off his chair. Irvine rubbed his face and stood up.

"C'mon," coaxed the biker. "Let's see what you got."

The bar tender was on the phone.

Irvine pushed the biker backward. Apparently the biker hadn't been expecting this, and he went flying several feet until a table broke his fall. The table exploded into splinters. Irvine looked back at the woman who was rushing toward him. He smiled, thinking that he had won this round, but she passed him and went to the biker's side. Irvine frowned.

She helped her boyfriend up off the broken table, and he promptly came back at Irvine with fists flying.

Irvine ducked out of the way and searched the room for Zell, only to find that his backup had already made his escape. He turned back to the biker who now had several other burly-looking guys behind him. Knowing that he couldn't win a fist fight against several biker men alone, Irvine dashed out the door.

-----

Rinoa knocked on Squall's door. She was getting bored of sitting in her room, waiting for one of the gang to come over and tell her where they were going. It was time to take action. She had already tried knocking on Zell's, Selphie's, and Quistis' doors, but they weren't there. If she had any other choice she would not be knocking on Squall's door after their last episode, but she was out of options.

"Just a minute," Squall called from within.

Rinoa waited a second. He never waited for her answer the door, wasn't it only fair for her to walk in on him, too? She turned to door knob. The door was unlocked. 'He's just asking for it,' she thought, walking into Squall's room.

Inside, 'Waltz of the Sugarplum Fairies' was playing, and Squall was in the middle of doing a ballet leap toward the door to answer it. He caught sight of Rinoa at the height of his jump and the rest was off. He lost his footing on the landing and tripped into Rinoa, knocking them both out into the hallway.

A maintenance woman looked over and shook her head at them. Squall quickly pushed himself off of Rinoa and looked up to see Zell, who had been standing silently behind Rinoa the entire time waiting to talk to him.

"I'm a little worried about those ballet moves, buddy," said Zell, patting him on the back and walking past the two on the floor, into the room.

Squall blushed and helped Rinoa up. "What are you two doing here?"

Rinoa looked angry. "I came to see you, because everyone else has left and didn't even tell me what the plans for today were!" She pointed at Zell. "I don't know what he's doing here."

"You gotta help me!" said Zell desperately. "Irvine and me went to a bar and he started talking to this girl, who happened to be the girlfriend of a scary biker guy with tattoos, and now Irvine's probably crushed on the pavement somewhere! What are we going to do?" he wailed.

"Calm down, Drama Queen," said Rinoa. "He's probably fine."

"He's probably dead," said Squall. He dodged Rinoa's shoe that she threw at him, which nearly made a dent in the hotel wall behind him.

"This trip was such a bad idea," said Zell, close to tears. "Nothing is going right."

"Don't beat yourself up, Zell. I've had lots of fun." Rinoa smiled at him. "And Selphie and Quistis are having lots of fun with those guys they met. Don't let it bring you down if Irvine doesn't appreciate the trip as much as the rest of us."

"No, it's not that," said Zell with a sniffle. "I think he's enjoying it too much. I think we should leave tomorrow. Head back to Balamb, and get jobs. Besides, my savings are running low."

"Well, if that's what you want, Zell."

Zell nodded. "You guys can stay if you want, but you'll have to pay for yourselves after tonight."

Rinoa shook her head hastily. "No, we'll come with you." Neither she, nor Squall had enough to pay for another night at the hotel. "But let's at least do what we came here to do."

Zell tilted his head to the side in question. "Eat hot dogs?"

Squall crossed his arms. "Stay indoors?"

"NO!" said Rinoa. "We came to go to the fair, so let's go back there one last time."

"Maybe _you _don't remember a certain incident that happened where I got kicked out off the fair grounds, but that doesn't mean that the security guard has forgotten," Zell reminded.

"You'll be fine," Rinoa said confidently. "All you need is a disguise."

-----

Quistis and Ray were walking along the path at the fair grounds that led past all the games. Ray had somehow managed to score Quistis several medium-sized stuffed chocobos, a large stuffed PuPu, and one _huge _stuffed Jumbo Cactuar, which Ray was carrying for her. Beside them were Sam, empty handed, and Selphie with a sour-puss pout on her face. Sam had tried desperately to win something for Selphie, but was having no luck.

They stopped at the balloon popping booth for the third time. Sam paid the ticket man another 100 gil for three darts, and made a promise to Selphie that he would win something for her this time for sure.

"It's easy," Ray encouraged. "Just focus on the balloon you want to hit."

Sam threw the dart, which bounced off a balloon and hit the ground. The balloon bounced up and down as if mocking him.

"Almost. Maybe a little harder this time," suggested Quistis.

Sam threw the second dart at the wall of balloons. It passed straight through the two balloons that couldn't have been closer together. In all logic, it had to have hit one of them, but there the dart sat, wedged in between the two balloons.

"Last one, Sam," Selphie said through clenched teeth, forcing her snarl into an unnatural smile.

Sam threw the last dart, not really caring where it went.

"HEY!" The dart narrowly missed the ticket man. "Listen, why don't you just give me 500 gil and I'll give you your choice of any one of the small prizes.

Sam looked to Selphie hoping that this would be okay. Selphie had an angry look on her face, and handed Sam another 100 gil from his own wallet to try again.

-----

Rinoa and Squall walked up to entrance gate to the fair and stood in line behind a woman her son.

"This is such a brilliant plan," Rinoa congratulated herself for thinking up such a conniving scheme.

Squall had his arms crossed and refused to look at Zell who was joining the line behind them.

Rinoa looked over her should at him, smiled, and waved.

Zell was wearing a blond wig, giving him long, curly locks, a long summer dress with sleeves, and sandals. He was also wearing the makeup that Rinoa insisted that he let her put on him for the finishing touches. He actually looked pretty good as a woman if you didn't pay attention to the very muscular arms, or very hairy legs.

"I can't do this," said Zell, about to take off.

"C'mon Zell, this is the only way. No one can tell the difference," Rinoa assured him.

The woman's son standing in line in front of them tugged on his mother's dress, and pointed to Zell. "Mommy, is that man a clown?"

The woman looked at Zell before her eyes widened. Then she looked at Zell disapprovingly and said to her son, "Yes he is."

"Mommy, can I be a clown when I grow up, too?" he asked.

"No." She pulled her son out of the line.

"Where are we going, Mommy?" asked the boy as they walked back to the parking lot.

Rinoa smiled. "What do kids know?" She moved up in line and took the woman's place.

Zell rolled his eyes and left.

"Zell!" Rinoa called after him.

-----

Quistis, Ray, Selphie, and Sam were on the move once again. Sam had spent well over 500 gil on the balloon popping game and the ticket man had insisted that he take the Creeps puppet and leave. Selphie now pulled the Creeps puppet by the strings through the dirt behind her.

As they were walking, Quistis passed a thick, wooden pole with a poster on it that caught her eye. "Oh my goodness." She stopped walking.

"What's up, Quistis?" asked Selphie, moving over to see the poster.

"Look at this," Quistis pointed at the poster.

"Isn't that your friend from the beach?" asked Ray.

"It's Irvine!" Selphie exclaimed. "Why is his picture on there? This isn't another personals ad is it?"

"It's a Wanted poster," said Quistis. She read the description: "Male, Caucasian, age 19, approximately 6 feet tall, may be armed, considered dangerous, do not approach."

"Did they miss anything?" asked Ray.

"Blood type," said Selphie.

"Nope, they have that here too, 'A'," Quistis read.

"Thorough..." Selphie sounded impressed. "We should take that poster as a souvenir."

Quistis looked around to make sure that no one was looking before pocketing the Wanted poster.

-----

Zell tossed the dress into the bushes near the gate to the fair. Luckily he was wearing his regular clothes underneath. He tossed the wig into the bushes too, and tried to get his hair to stand up again.

"Hey, Chicken-wuss. What are you doing in the bushes?" asked a familiar voice behind him.

Zell slouched and turned around to look at Seifer and his long-haired girlfriend. "None of your business," he retorted.

Seifer made a face and the woman on his arm chuckled. "Dude, what's with the makeup?"

Zell cursed Rinoa. "I'm trying to get a job as a clown," Zell thought quickly.

"Well that shouldn't be too hard. Let me know if you get the job. I'll want to come back and try the old 'pie in the face' on you."

Zell twitched and tried to remain calm. "Right."

Seifer and the woman walked up to the line. Zell made sure that they had gone in before he joined the line. He would get into the fair, he would just have to avoid the security guard that kicked him out. Possibly the chocobo man as well.

Once Zell had gotten onto the fair grounds successfully he spotted Rinoa and Squall and caught up with them.

Rinoa looked disappointed. "Zell, you got rid of your disguise!"

"But kept the makeup," Squall snorted. "And you were worried about _my _balletmoves?"

"It's quite a becoming look for you," Rinoa complimented.

"You think so?" asked Zell.

Rinoa nodded.

The group of three made their way to the line for a roller coaster. There were probably over one hundred people in the line, but that had to mean something about the quality of the ride. They waited. And waited... And waited some more.

Zell started humming while they waited. The line moved up a little bit, and then they waited more. Zell started to sing a few lines of mumbled lyrics. "Have you even had a job that you truly despise... dish washin... flippin fries..."

It was about noon and the sun was at it's zenith. Maybe it was the heat, but Zell began to sing and rap at the top of his lungs. "Homies! Homies! Yeah that's my dog!"

"Zell..." Rinoa nudged him. "You're supposed to be under cover. Stop creating a scene!"

Several people in the line were staring at Zell. A kid further up ahead yelled, "Shut up!"

Zell started to bounce in place, singing, or rather, rapping, "And everything is obsolete unless I hear my homies call!"

"Hey, I think I know that," said Squall. "What is that?"

Zell stopped singing, "ICP, man. They're the best."

"IC...P?" Rinoa repeated.

"That's right!" said Squall. "Insane Clown Posse."

Rinoa looked at Squall with a confused expression.

"You know? Homies?"

Rinoa raised an eyebrow.

"The Dead Carnival?"

Rinoa stared at Squall as if her were a complete stranger. "Do I know you? First ballet, now insane clowns?"

"Insane Clown Posse," Zell corrected.

Rinoa blinked. "Whatever."

"Hey." A guard came up behind Zell and tapped him on the shoulder. "Are you the one making all the trouble?"

"Uh..." Zell trailed off.

-----

**To my readers/reviewers**: Thanks for reading. What's going to happen to Zell? Where's Irvine hiding out? Find out in the next (and probably final) chappy of FF8 Goes to the Fair. R&R if you have something to say.


	5. Part V

**Disclaimer:** (See part I.)

**A/N:** Irvine's Wanted picture is posted everywhere and Zell has snuck into the fair again. Will either of them be caught? Why is Irvine getting into more trouble than Zell? Why has Irvine become the main person in this story? By now no one cares who that woman with Seifer is anymore. Will Quistis face the Drop Zone? Will there be a relapse of ICP? (I hope not.) Will the group make it back to Balamb without anyone being arrested? Will this be the last chappy? Will the madness ever end?!

-----

**Part 5**

-----

The security guard waited for Zell's reply, even though she already knew that Zell was the one making all the trouble. She just wanted to hear it from the boy himself, but Zell didn't say anything more.

"Alright, you're coming with me." The security guard took Zell by his vest and pulled him from the line.

Zell looked back to Squall and Rinoa for help, but Rinoa wasn't even looking at him, apparently too embarrassed to be seen with him, and Squall had his back turned to him. So much for relying on friends.

With a hand on Zell's back, the security guard pushed Zell along slightly in front of her.

"So..." Began Zell, hoping he could sweet-talk his way out of this situation like Irvine so often did. "What's your name, Officer?"

The security guard was slightly flattered at being called 'Officer'. She had just been hired by the Fair Committee to keep order at the fair. The only qualification she had was a background in Karate. "It's Lisa."

"So, Lisa... You like hot dogs?"

_Hot dogs_? she thought to herself. What did hot dogs have to do with anything? She couldn't let herself be distracted from the seriousness of the situation. "Quiet you; you're going to be in big trouble if you don't start behaving.

"Is it a crime to sing in line?"

Lisa laughed. "You were disturbing the peace. There's a difference."

"So, where are we going?" asked Zell.

"To the Security Station. I have to report you for the trouble you were causing."

Apparently he need more practice with his sweet-talking. Zell looked around nervously, hoping for an escape route. If he let Lisa turn him in, she would surely find out that he had already been kicked out of the fair a couple days earlier. Upon seeing an empty line up for the kids' Haunted House ride, Zell immediately dashed in that direction, away from the security guard.

"Come back here, you!" Lisa called after him. "Don't let him in," she called ahead to the man collecting tickets for the ride, but he had already let Zell inside.

Lisa went up to the Haunted House's entrance, but was stopped by the gate. "Let me in," she ordered the ticket man."

"First you give me three tickets. You wanna ride; I need your tickets," he said, slowing her pursuit of Zell.

"Listen, Mister. You want your tickets? I'll come back with an officer, and he'll write you a nice, hefty ticket. How does that sound?" she threatened.

The ticket man didn't look worried. "Fine. I'll let you in for one, but don't tell _anyone_ about this."

Lisa clenched her fists at her sides, trying to refrain from using her Karate moves on the man. "Look, there's a deviant in your Haunted House, and I have to go in there and retrieve him before he causes anymore damage. Can you please open the gate?"

The man shook his head.

Lisa let out a frustrated groan, and stomped over to the ticket booth to buy a ticket. "Can I have one ticket?" she took 20 gil out of her pocket.

"Tickets only come in 10s," said the ticket boy.

"How much is 10?" asked Lisa.

"1000 gil."

Lisa nearly fainted. "What?! Oh fine..." She handed him the gil.

-----

Inside the Haunted House, Zell was having a frightfully delightful time. When he first walked in, his main mission was to avoid Lisa and stay hidden in the shadows until she left, but he couldn't resist the bright flashing lights and chilling screams coming from deeper inside.

As he rounded a corner a fake mummy popped out of its coffin. Zell jumped and screamed at the top of his lungs. The mummy lowered back down, and Zell laughed nervously.

He approached a dark, narrow tunnel, and had to side-step to squeeze himself through. The ride was obviously meant for small children. As he stepped along, Zell felt something tickle his neck, sending shivers down his spine. He tried to brush the feeling away with his hand, but when he brought it up, it caused him to get lodged between the narrow walls.

Panicked by what sounded a monster was coming up in the dark behind him, Zell struggled to get himself free. "Help!" he called out. "I'm stuck!"

The feeling of something furry scamper past his leg made him forget how stuck he really was, and he managed to dislodge himself and tumble into the opening on the other side. Thankfully his face broke his fall.

Zell pushed himself up to see the scariest face he had ever seen. Zell screamed, sat up, and quickly did a crab walk to get away from the hideous monster. Then he laughed. The creature laughed with him. Standing up and moving closer to the thing, he realized that it was just his distorted reflection in a mirror.

"Crazy," Zell murmured to himself, making a few funny looking faces.

Then someone put a hand on his shoulder.

Zell whipped around quickly.

"BOO!"

A look of horror crossed Zell's face and he punched the threat in the jaw with his fist.

The trickster moaned and rubbed his face. "Remind me not to do that again."

"You'd better not... Hey! Irvine! What are you doing here?" Zell exclaimed.

"I got me a job scaring the little kiddies," said Irvine, proudly. "Well, actually, I don't get paid for it, but..."

"How'd you get a job here?" asked Zell. "Weren't you ban from the fair grounds?"

"Weren't you, too?" Irvine replied.

Zell grinned. "Well, at least you aren't dead. I thought you were a goner for sure!"

"Yeah..." Irvine was reminded of how Zell had deserted him at the bar. "I was surrounded by husky biker guys so I ran from the bar, but they all got on their motorcycles and chased me up the road. I didn't think I would make it either, but then the ticket man from out front of the Haunted House, he stopped on the road and told me to hop in. It was him or the bikers."

"That doesn't really explain how you got this gig," said Zell.

"I was getting to that," Irvine continued. "So after the ticket man brought me back to safety, he told me that because he had saved my life, I would have to come work for him. He said he had been looking for a dead cowboy replacement to scare the kids at the fair. So what choice did I have? The man saved me. Plus, it lets me hide away from the security guards, and brings me two meals a day."

"Sounds like slavery to me," said Zell.

"What was that?"

"Never mind..."

Irvine smiled as if he had accomplished something very prestigious. "Have you seen my Wanted picture?"

"How could I miss it? You're plastered up on every post on the grounds."

"I'm like a celebrity. When the kids come in and I scare them, they think I'm just a robot like the mummy up there, and then they leave, thinking that a real out-law was after them."

Zell shook his head. "If only they knew the truth..." Just then Zell noticed a light coming from the narrow tunnel.

"I know you're in here, you deviant," came the voice of Lisa. "I'm going to find you and you'll be lucky if you get out with only a fine after this."

"Oh no!" Zell whispered. "It's her."

"Who?"

"Lisa."

"Lisa?"

"The security guard."

"Busted..."

"No! You know this place better than me. Tell me where I can hide," Zell begged.

"Right." Irvine was up for the challenge. "Follow me."

Lisa squeezed through the narrow path and came into the opening, startled briefly by the movement of her distorted reflection. "Boy..." she sang. "Where are you?" A sudden noise as if something had fallen, caused her to jump. She turned quickly in that direction, but it appeared to be just a wall. She continued through the room.

Passing an empty setup, Lisa wondered if something was mission. There was a plastic rattle snake, an ox's skull, and some cacti, but there wasn't anything overly scary about it. She was upset that she had actually had to pay to get in side. The place was a rip off.

Lisa searched all the corners of the room, but was unsuccessful in finding Zell. Assuming that he had taken off while she was distracted with having to buy tickets, she left.

"I think she's gone," whispered Zell, pushing his way out from behind a fake wall.

"What are you going to do now?" asked Irvine, coming out behind him.

"I don't know," said Zell, "become a fugitive like you."

"Is that a question, or a statement?" Irvine wasn't sure.

"We've gotta get out of here, I think we've had enough of this fair."

Irvine hesitated. "It might be a little difficult for me to leave."

"Huh? How come?" Zell didn't know where this was coming from all of a sudden.

"Well, it's just, the ticket guy. I promised him that I'd stay for at least two weeks..."

Zell's eyes widened. "But the rest of us are leaving! You can't stay behind."

Irvine thought about it for a moment. "Why not? He's giving me food, and he told me I can use the Haunted House to sleep in... I don't really see an issue. I'll work for the two weeks, then ask for pay, and save up enough gil for a plane back to Balamb."

Zell rolled his eyes. "We're not leaving you behind. We'll sneak out of here, go back to the hotel, pack, and leave in the morning."

"Fine." Irvine sighed. "Let's go." He and Zell completed the length of the Haunted House and made it to the back exit.

Zell stepped out into the light first, squinting at the contrast between the dark Haunted House and daylight. Then he felt someone clamp down on his shoulder. Squinting upward he saw a security guard with the name 'Biggs' sewn onto his pocket.

Irvine tried to disappear back into the shadows of the Haunted House, but a man with the name tag 'Wedge' grabbed his arm before he could get away.

Standing a short distance ahead of them was Lisa with a huge grin on her face. "Well, it cost me 1000 gil, 23 minutes, and a phone call, but I finally caught you."

"Yep," said Irvine, "you caught him. Can you let me go now?"

Lisa laughed. "Not a chance, Mr. Wanted. I think there's even a reward for turning you in."

Slightly flattered that Lisa knew who he was, the corner of Irvine's mouth curled into a smile.

"Alright, let's head over to the Security Station before we create anymore of a scene," Lisa instructed.

Biggs and Wedge walked Zell and Irvine past the crowd of people that had gathered around to see what was going on. They began to applaud the capture of the deviants.

Irvine stopped to take a bow, but was quickly tugged away by Wedge.

"Where are you taking my employee?" asked the ticket man. "I need him, and he owes me."

"This man is wanted by the police, and you were concealing a criminal, Mister," said Lisa.

"Is that such a crime?" he asked.

"Actually, yeah, it is. I'll be back for you later so don't go anywhere, OK?"

-----

Quite the crowd had gathered on the path ahead of Quistis and Selphie.

"What's going on around here?" asked Sam.

"Looks like it's gotta be a good ride. Maybe we should get in line," Ray suggested.

"I don't think it's a ride," said Selphie, pointing at someone in the crowd. "I think they found Irvine."

"Really?" Quistis stood on her tip-toes to see over the crowd. "They've got Zell, too."

"They should stop hanging out together..." commented Selphie.

"Zell!" Quistis called to Zell, who was in the process of being taken away. "What's going on? Do you have a plan to get yourself out of this one?"

Zell turned to see Quistis, and called back to her, "Assuming we aren't given time, we're leaving tomorrow morning for Balamb."

"Tomorrow?!" Selphie protested. "That's too soon!"

Zell shrugged. "I don't have anymore gil left after today."

Quistis turned to Ray, immediately forgetting about Irvine and Zell. "What are we going to do? I might never see you again."

"Hey, yeah," Selphie realized the truth. "How will we see each other again?"

Sam shook his head, unable to see a happy ending.

"C'mon," said Ray, "you people are so depressing. We'll still see each other."

Quistis found a tinge of hope. "But how?"

"We're delivery guys!" Ray reminded. "We do deliveries all over the world! We're bound to get to Balamb sooner or later."

"Hopefully sooner." Selphie smiled at Sam and took his hand in hers.

"That's right!" said Quistis, with newfound confidence. "We'll see each other again. Let's enjoy the rest of the time we have together now."

"Right." Ray smiled at Quistis. "Who's up for Drop Zone."

-----

Still in line for the roller coaster, Squall and Rinoa were almost at the front of the line. They were certain that they'd make it onto the next one.

"I think it's almost over," said Squall.

"I hope so!" said Rinoa.

"It feels like it's been forever since we got here."

"I know what you mean. I can't wait to go."

Squall gave her a funny look as the next roller coaster arrived. "Soon we'll be able to go. I didn't know you'd be so happy to leave."

"Who wouldn't? Being here is terrible! That sun is so hot, and you're going to get a farmer's tan."

"I didn't think it was that bad, actually. I wanted to stay here longer. We haven't really had all that much time to be together like this."

"Maybe so, but we've been in this line forever," said Rinoa.

"Line?" Squall repeated. "I was talking about the trip."

"What?"

"I mean, I think we'll be going back to Balamb soon." Squall made himself more coherent.

"Oh..." A sad look befell Rinoa. "How come?"

"I don't think Zell had that much gil in his savings, and he's bound to be getting close to his limit."

The line moved ahead. Squall and Rinoa paid with tickets, got into the roller coaster, and buckled themselves in.

"How much longer do you think we'll have?" asked Rinoa, as if Squall held all the answers.

"Who knows?" said Squall. Two people running the roller coaster came to make sure that everyone was safely secured in their seats. "This could be our last day here."

Rinoa didn't want to hear the bad news. "Oh, don't say that Squall!"

"Well, it could be," he stated simply.

The roller coaster began to ascend the long ramp upward.

"We've hardly been together at all this whole time!" Rinoa complained, wishing that she had made better use of their time together.

"It's not over yet," said Squall, glancing beside him at Rinoa and grinning devilishly. "We've still got all night."

Rinoa was about to respond with a witty comment, but without warning, the roller coaster blasted to the top of the ramp and shot down the other side. All that escaped her was an excited scream.

-----

Zell and Irvine were taken inside the Security Station and told to take a seat until they could be attended to. Apparently there were more trouble makers at the fair than just them.

Zell sat down next to a younger boy. "What're you in for?" he asked the kid.

"Shut your face!" he snapped.

Zell looked frightened and shuffled over to the next seat.

Irvine immediately recognized a familiar face in the room. It was Trisha from their hotel. "Trisha. Long time, no see."

"Irvine! Hey, I was just thinking about you."

"Really?" said Irvine, more like a statement than a question.

"Yeah," said Trisha. "It's like I can't erase your face from my mind, like, I see you everywhere I turn."

Irvine looked around the room at all his Wanted posters plastered on the walls. "I think I have that affect on a lot of people."

Trisha laughed.

"What are you in here for?" He genuinely disbelieved that she had caused trouble at the fair.

"I accidentally started a fist fight with a girl that I haven't seen for a while," she explained.

"Accidentally?"

"We have a history..." Trisha didn't go into more detail than that. "So now I wait here for my reprimand."

"You are perfect!" Irvine thought he might shed a tear at his luck that their paths should cross again.

"I don't think the hand cuffs are really necessary, though." She indicated her wrists.

Irvine half smiled. "I think they suit you."

"Thanks," she said, probably more proudly than she should have.

Zell elbowed Irvine in the arm, breaking the enchantment spell that Trisha had cast on him. "What are we going to do?" He searched Irvine's eyes desperately for a solution to their dilemma.

"Dude, I'm busy." He turned back to Trisha.

Zell elbowed him again.

Irvine turned back to his friend. "Zell, you'll be fine. I think prison will suit you well."

Zell gulped. "P-prison?"

"I'm kidding," Irvine said in monotone voice. "They probably just want us to pay some sort of a fine. What am I wanted for anyway?"

"Apparently you started a brawl in a bar." Trisha smiled and leaned in closer to Irvine. "I like a man who can start a good brawl."

"Perfect," Irvine referred to Trisha again.

"Break it up, you two," said the guard sitting at the main desk in the room.

"A fine?" asked Zell.

"Yes. A fine," said Irvine, a little more annoyed. "You can handle it. Just pay the fine and we're out." Irvine went back to flirting with Trisha.

"Uh, Irvine... If there's a fine, I only have enough to pay for one of us, and it'll be me."

Irvine whirled back to Zell. "Say what?"

"You know I'm low on cash. I'll be lucky if I have enough for me. Maybe I'll use my one phone call to call Ma to come and save me."

"No, you can't let me go to prison! I'm too beautiful for prison!" Irvine panicked. "You have to get us out of this!"

Zell rolled his eyes. "Irvine, you'll be fine. I think prison will suit you well," he used Irvine's words against him.

Irvine glared at Zell. "Traitor."

Just then Lisa came over to them. "Well, your punishments have been decided."

"Already? But we didn't even get a hearing," said Irvine.

"I know." Lisa crossed her arms. "Apparently they didn't think your crimes were all that serious, so all you get it community service."

Filled with relief, Zell let his shoulders slouch and sighed.

"You each have to complete 10 hours of service here at the fair. You won't be able to leave the grounds until you finish, so I suggest you get started on that right away." Lisa walked away.

Zell perked up again. "We'll have to hurry up and finish the hours if we want to leave tomorrow morning."

"You're leaving?" Trisha pouted.

"Yeah, Zell was paying for the trip, but he's outta gil, therefore, the trip ends," said Irvine.

"That sucks," said Trisha. "I wish we could have spent more time together."

"Hey, when I get a job again, I'll pay for a ride back up here and come and visit you."

Trisha smiled. "Sounds great! I guess we get to spend the rest of the day together anyway. Let's go."

The three were given more information on the jobs that they had to do and they were off.

-----

Quistis couldn't believe that she was standing in line for the Drop Zone. She had done so much, gone out of her way so many times, to avoid the ride. It was the very last thing she wanted to do on her vacation, but somehow Ray had talked her into it with his calming charm. She didn't feel so calm now that they were almost at the head of the line.

"Woo-hoo! This is gonna be so great!" Selphie exclaimed, jumping up and down.

Quistis felt nauseous.

Ray put a hand on her back. "Don't be so nervous. It's just a ride."

"Oh, I'm not nervous." Quistis waved off the understatement. "I'm petrified!"

Ray laughed, making Quistis a little more relaxed. Maybe she was being a little overly anxious.

The line advanced and it was Quistis' turn to get on the ride. She weakly stepped up to the group of four seats and sat in between Selphie and Ray. Sam sat on the other side of Selphie.

_So this is it,_ thought Quistis, clamping down the safety buckle. The ride operator came around to make sure everyone was buckled in, and the ride started on its steady lift to the top of the ride. Quistis shut her eyes tightly and willed herself to breathe calmly and evenly. Soon it would all be over. When they reached the top, the ride paused.

"Open your eyes, Quistis," said Ray.

"I think I'd rather not," she replied.

"Look at the great view," said Selphie.

_Just a peek won't hurt,_ Quistis thought, opening one eye a crack.

It really was a great view. Looking across the fair grounds, and all the way to the horizon, Quistis could see the ocean where they had gone swimming. It was so beautiful that she almost forgot how high up they were. Then the ride clicked and before Quistis could shut her eyes again, they were plummeting to the ground.

Selphie shrieked with delight.

Just before Quistis was sure that they were going to hit the ground, they shot back up into the air again, all the way to the top, where she could see the whole fair grounds again. After a few times of going up and down, her nauseous feeling seemed to diminish slightly. The ride wasn't so bad after all.

When the ride came to a stop and they got off, Quistis' hair was a bird's nest, and her face had paled, but she had an enormous smile on her face, and was filled with the pride of having faced her fear.

"How was that?" asked Ray.

"Surprisingly, less terrible than I thought it would be," she replied.

"Wanna go on again?" asked Selphie.

"No, that was enough fun for one year, I think."

Selphie shrugged. "Suit yourself. We'll be back in a little while." She tugged Sam behind her back to the line to go one for a second time.

-----

Zell, Irvine, and Trisha completed their community service by 10:45PM, which was just in time to make it back to the Security Station in time to report their hours and check out of the fair for good.

"I'm exhausted," Trisha dragged her tired body into the back of a cab that they had called.

"They didn't even feed us." Zell placed a hand on his hungry stomach. "Not even a measly crust of hot dog bun."

"I don't think I'll ever start another brawl again," said Irvine, but when Trisha looked at him with disappointment he took his words back.

They got back to their hotel and went to their rooms to rest after a hard day's work. Irvine, who didn't have a room anymore, slept on the extra mattress in Zell's room.

-----

The following morning, Selphie awoke bright and early. She had packed her belongings the night before so that she and Quistis could meet the guys for an early breakfast before they left.

She dressed quickly, walked to Quistis' room, and knocked on the door. Someone down the hall was giggling loudly and occasionally let out a gasp, and then whispering ensued.

Selphie looked in the direction of the noises when Quistis opened the door, dressed and ready to go. "All set?"

"Shh!" Selphie quieted her and looked down the hall, listening for the voices to come again.

At the end of the hall Squall and Rinoa rounded the corner, both giggling like little girls and wearing their pajamas. They noticed Selphie and Quistis standing in the hall and suppressed their laughter until they reached Squall's room.

"Morning," Rinoa greeted the two stunned girls happily, and went into the room with Squall behind her, shutting the door. Then more giggling came from inside.

"That was weird," commented Selphie.

"What time is checkout again?" Quistis changed the subject.

-----

Zell awoke to a room service phone call. He answered it sleepily with a yawn. "Wassup?"

"Mr. Dincht, this is the front office calling. We'd like to thank you for choosing to stay with us. Checkout today is at 10AM."

"OK." Zell hung up the phone and tried to pull the blanket up to his head, but found that it was stuck. He frowned and pulled on them harder, but this time they pulled back. He opened his eyes to find Irvine lying on the floor, clinging to the blanket.

"This is mine," Zell reminded.

"Do you know how cold it is in here? Why is the AC cranked up so high?" asked Irvine.

"I think it's nice."

"Who was calling?" Irvine let go of the blanket and climbed back into the spare bed.

"Room service. Checkout's at 10AM."

Irvine looked to the alarm clock. "You know we only have ten minutes to get out of here, right?"

"There's gotta be more than-" Zell looked at the clock. "Ten minutes!" Zell jumped out of bed, and began throwing his belongings into his suitcase, moving faster than he had in his entire life.

-----

Luckily, the entire group made it out of the hotel with just one minute to spare. They arrived at the airport and boarded the plane back to Balamb.

Quistis was surprisingly calmer than when they had first boarded the plane. After riding Drop Zone, Quistis thought she could take on the world. That is, she thought she could take on the world until the plane was about to take off. Then she clutched onto Irvine with a death grip, leaving nail marks in his arm.

"This trip was so great, Zell! Thanks so much for paying for us all to go," said Selphie in the seat next to Zell.

"Yeah," Rinoa agreed from the seat behind them. "This is the most fun we've had in a long time, right Squall?"

"Right," Squall agreed.

"We should do this again next year," suggested Selphie. "Maybe we can make it an annual thing."

"Sounds like fun," said Zell, "but next time you guys are paying for yourselves. I blew my whole savings on this trip, down to my very last gil!"

"I guess we all have to find jobs when we get back to Balamb then, don't we?" said Selphie.

"Yep," confirmed Irvine. "So what are you going to tell Ma when you get back, Zell?"

"I believe the lie was that I was going to rent an apartment."

Irvine grinned. "Alright… and when she finds out that you don't have an apartment?"

Zell looked at Irvine. "She doesn't have to find out." He grinned.

-----

And so the group made it back to Balamb safely, each finding employment in order to repeat the trip again next year.

Rinoa and Squall began seeing each other regularly. Quistis and Selphie received a surprise visit from Ray and Sam. Irvine called Trisha as often as he could, and his phone bills shot through the roof. Zell lied to Ma, and by the time she decided it was time to visit Zell at his apartment, he had earned enough money to rent one.

The trip to the fair became an annual event. Of course, they had to go to a different fair, because of all the difficulties at the first one... And the year after that they had to go to one what wasn't associated with either of the first two.

-----

THE END

-----

**A/N:** It's finally over. I never meant for it to end this way, but it is what it is. This took longer than any one fic ever should. If you've made it this far, I'd like to know what you think.


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